Thursday, January 19, 2012
New Camera, Same Sweet Face.
I haven't read the manual yet, but I've been reading some photography blogs to try to figure out how to use my new toy. I've got to say that the Pioneer Woman's photography blog is awesome, easy to read, and very understandable. While I haven't been successful in capturing a great picture of Fawn yet, even these early tries are a great improvement over my old point-and-shoot.
We live pretty close to a great walking loop through the woods that's about a mile long. Fawn loves to hike through the woods exploring -- he was so excited to find a yellow leaf amidst all the brown.
I love this little boy -- especially how much of a boy he is. He was totally pumped that we saw not one, but two, snails on our walk, plus a slug and a worm. (The poor worm didn't live to see another day after Fawn tried to not so gently get him to crawl on a stick...but maybe gentleness will come later.)
In an apparent attempt to reduce any appearance of a double chin, this is Fawn's latest look when he suggests that I take his picture. (One additional perk of the new camera is that Fawn is interested in getting his picture again! Yeah!) I'll take whatever angle I can get -- even the up-the-nose shot.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Farmer Fawn.
One year after the John Deere tractor birthday party, we are still pretty obsessed with tractors around here. And, this new toy from Buck's parents is a current favorite.
It's a pedal toy, which is great because Fawn will ride it for a solid hour and "get some energy out" as we say around here. We live pretty close to a church with an awesome parking lot for safe riding. I'm still trying to figure out how I'll get the John Deere tractor into my car plus a stroller for the bambino. Hmm...only time will tell. But, I'm sure we will figure out how to spend many more afternoons enjoying a nice ride.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Finally, Christmas Morning Pictures.
Okay, I've now successfully uploaded pictures from my new camera to my computer. My goal is to get the camera manual read before Fawn's birthday party and baby #2's arrival, but somehow that keeps falling to the bottom of the ever-growing "to do" list. So without any editing (maybe next time!), enjoy:
Despite all the pre-Christmas build up, Fawn was pretty skeptical Christmas morning. He would not open his presents at first, but insisted that mommy and daddy do it for him. We gave him time to warm up, though, and he finally got excited!
So excited about his new Mickey Mouse fishing rod! Too bad it's not fishing season around here yet...but don't worry we've been practicing casting in our driveway. And let me tell you, Fawn may be headed for a career as a professional fisherman -- he's pretty good!
Loving Pat the Hammer and his Lightening McQueen red race car. It was a merry, merry Christmas morning!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Nesting Nonsense.
Whew...we've been busy around here. Buck and I both seem to have caught the nesting bug. The good news is that the house is super clean and organized. And, the bad news is that as soon as baby #2 arrives I'm sure that will all go out the window. A fresh start feels good, though.
We've gutted Fawn's playroom -- removing the "grown-up" furniture to make room for baby things and give Fawn some much needed additional space to play. Now our family room is looking a little frat house/bachelor pad with some mismatched furniture. Just a sign of the times with little ones around...there are plenty of years for a nice, decorated look.
The baby things have been moved from the attic and re-assembled. Buck's replenished his stash of batteries for all the gadgets too.
Car seat base is in -- after a stop at our friendly neighborhood fire department. You would have thought we'd have remembered after a year of using the thing, but better to know we've got it in correctly.
I've washed and organized all of the gender neutral clothing -- in all honesty basically all of the newborn and 0-3 month sized clothes without Fawn's name or monogram. I see no reason why a little girl (though I'm still convinced we're having a boy) couldn't wear a blue outfit to sleep.
Oh, there's still more to do -- I've got a couple more loads of laundry (baby towels, changing pads, sheets for the bassinet, baby blankets), I've got to pack the hospital bags (I've made a list and stocked up on travel sized toiletries, but it all needs to be assembled), and I need to make sure everything for Fawn is organized for my stay in the hospital. But, we're feeling more prepared, more excited, and yes more scared. Let the countdown begin...
We've gutted Fawn's playroom -- removing the "grown-up" furniture to make room for baby things and give Fawn some much needed additional space to play. Now our family room is looking a little frat house/bachelor pad with some mismatched furniture. Just a sign of the times with little ones around...there are plenty of years for a nice, decorated look.
The baby things have been moved from the attic and re-assembled. Buck's replenished his stash of batteries for all the gadgets too.
Car seat base is in -- after a stop at our friendly neighborhood fire department. You would have thought we'd have remembered after a year of using the thing, but better to know we've got it in correctly.
I've washed and organized all of the gender neutral clothing -- in all honesty basically all of the newborn and 0-3 month sized clothes without Fawn's name or monogram. I see no reason why a little girl (though I'm still convinced we're having a boy) couldn't wear a blue outfit to sleep.
Oh, there's still more to do -- I've got a couple more loads of laundry (baby towels, changing pads, sheets for the bassinet, baby blankets), I've got to pack the hospital bags (I've made a list and stocked up on travel sized toiletries, but it all needs to be assembled), and I need to make sure everything for Fawn is organized for my stay in the hospital. But, we're feeling more prepared, more excited, and yes more scared. Let the countdown begin...
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Potty Training Tidbits.
I am so proud of Fawn...he has done great at this potty-training thing. And, frankly, I'm pretty proud of Buck and me too -- we were scared to jump into this process but I think haven't made too many mistakes along the way (or not too serious of mistakes, that is!). I wanted to share some quick thoughts I had for those of you about to embark on the feat -- not because I have any good wisdom to share, but because the best tips I got were from other moms. I didn't read a potty training book -- just tried to trust my gut (and, more importantly, my friends). If you know me, you will be SHOCKED that I didn't study up. Maybe I'm becoming more mellow or perhaps the thought of using my limited free hours reading about potty training was just too much for me.
1. Cloth pull-ups are awesome and totally worth the money. I bought mine at Swaddle in Homewood. I use them more as an underwear "cover" when we're out for a long day or when we're eating out or when Fawn's at school or church. We never wear them at home, but Fawn can be pretty sensitive and I'd heard through the grapevine that some kids get very embarrassed when they have accidents in public. Knowing that accidents do happen, I decided that thwarting off some embarrassment for Fawn was probably a good idea. Let me be clear...cloth pull-ups do not prevent clothes from getting wet. But, they prevent a puddle.
2. While big boy (or girl) underwear is fun, be ready for some battles. Fawn is the proud owner of both Handy Manny and Thomas the Train underwear. It was a big incentive to get out of diapers. Little did I know that there would be more tears over which underwear was clean rather than actual use of the potty. He's gotten much better, but for the first few weeks would absolutely come apart if one of his favorite pairs was dirty. And, he simply cannot understand why I will not let him repeat underwear if he doesn't have an accident. Try explaining hygiene to an almost-three-year old. Anyway, if you have a strong-willed little one beware -- looking back I probably should have started with all white underwear to prevent the battles. Lesson learned.
3. Get ready for more laundry because of #2 above. (I don't think Fawn's an outlier on the underwear preference issue -- in fact some of the girls in my Sunday school class and I are all having issues with this.) I used to prescribe to a rigid laundry schedule in which I did all of our laundry on the same day of the week, every week. Only exceptions being (1) someone got sick and we had to do linens to prevent further infection or (2) Buck brought home nasty clothes from the farm. I loved the one-day, laundry day. It was a good day for Fawn and me to have some calm, at home time. It felt very efficient. And, the repressed hippie in me knew it was better for the environment (and my power bill) to use the dryer for one day only because it can stay hot and start hot. Now, to keep Fawn somewhat appeased, I feel like I'm constantly doing laundry. As soon as I have enough clothes for a load, I wash it. That way Fawn's favorites (Pat the Hammer) are clean as often as possible. I figure when the new baby arrives the more frequent laundering will be a necessity anyway.
4. Don't worry about naps or night. Caveat: This may be totally wrong in terms of the "right" way to potty train your child. In fact, when I told my neighbor we were still doing diapers for naps and bedtime she was somewhat alarmed and said that her boys were totally potty trained from the get go. Mine isn't. Oh well. I can't be constantly washing and changing sheets at 7+ months pregnant (or with a newborn)...so for the foreseeable future we're still in diapers while sleeping. I will say, though, that I think Fawn is close to ready to be diaper free -- he wakes up dry 90% of the time. But, lazy mom here isn't even willing to change and wash sheets 10% of the time.
5. While disgusting, the cutesy, little potty is really a great way to start off. And, while you're at it, invest in a good step stool or two. Fawn only used his turtle potty for the first few weeks -- and we went through TONS of Lysol wipes to keep things clean. Then, after a weekend away he proclaimed he was a big boy and didn't need a little potty and hasn't used it sense. Thank goodness! I don't miss the turtle at all. Fawn has a step stool in our hall bathroom on our main floor and in his bathroom upstairs -- so there is a "child-friendly" bathroom on each floor of our house. Definitely worth the $13 a pop I spent at Home Depot. Fawn has now declared that both of those bathrooms are his and that Buck and I are to use our own bathrooms. Fine by me.
6. Diversify your treats. We did leftover Halloween candy (smarties and dum dums) at first, then paired down to gummies, marshmallows, chocolate chips, then to stickers/stamps. Now he doesn't even ask. I should have mixed it up from the beginning so he didn't have an expectation of a particular reward.
7. Be ready for regression. It hasn't all been smooth sailing. Fawn will go a couple weeks without any accidents and then boom, we'll have a couple days in a row with several accidents. I think we are definitely headed in the right direction, but Fawn isn't one of those kids who was completely potty-trained from the get-go. It's still so much better than changing diapers, though!
1. Cloth pull-ups are awesome and totally worth the money. I bought mine at Swaddle in Homewood. I use them more as an underwear "cover" when we're out for a long day or when we're eating out or when Fawn's at school or church. We never wear them at home, but Fawn can be pretty sensitive and I'd heard through the grapevine that some kids get very embarrassed when they have accidents in public. Knowing that accidents do happen, I decided that thwarting off some embarrassment for Fawn was probably a good idea. Let me be clear...cloth pull-ups do not prevent clothes from getting wet. But, they prevent a puddle.
2. While big boy (or girl) underwear is fun, be ready for some battles. Fawn is the proud owner of both Handy Manny and Thomas the Train underwear. It was a big incentive to get out of diapers. Little did I know that there would be more tears over which underwear was clean rather than actual use of the potty. He's gotten much better, but for the first few weeks would absolutely come apart if one of his favorite pairs was dirty. And, he simply cannot understand why I will not let him repeat underwear if he doesn't have an accident. Try explaining hygiene to an almost-three-year old. Anyway, if you have a strong-willed little one beware -- looking back I probably should have started with all white underwear to prevent the battles. Lesson learned.
3. Get ready for more laundry because of #2 above. (I don't think Fawn's an outlier on the underwear preference issue -- in fact some of the girls in my Sunday school class and I are all having issues with this.) I used to prescribe to a rigid laundry schedule in which I did all of our laundry on the same day of the week, every week. Only exceptions being (1) someone got sick and we had to do linens to prevent further infection or (2) Buck brought home nasty clothes from the farm. I loved the one-day, laundry day. It was a good day for Fawn and me to have some calm, at home time. It felt very efficient. And, the repressed hippie in me knew it was better for the environment (and my power bill) to use the dryer for one day only because it can stay hot and start hot. Now, to keep Fawn somewhat appeased, I feel like I'm constantly doing laundry. As soon as I have enough clothes for a load, I wash it. That way Fawn's favorites (Pat the Hammer) are clean as often as possible. I figure when the new baby arrives the more frequent laundering will be a necessity anyway.
4. Don't worry about naps or night. Caveat: This may be totally wrong in terms of the "right" way to potty train your child. In fact, when I told my neighbor we were still doing diapers for naps and bedtime she was somewhat alarmed and said that her boys were totally potty trained from the get go. Mine isn't. Oh well. I can't be constantly washing and changing sheets at 7+ months pregnant (or with a newborn)...so for the foreseeable future we're still in diapers while sleeping. I will say, though, that I think Fawn is close to ready to be diaper free -- he wakes up dry 90% of the time. But, lazy mom here isn't even willing to change and wash sheets 10% of the time.
5. While disgusting, the cutesy, little potty is really a great way to start off. And, while you're at it, invest in a good step stool or two. Fawn only used his turtle potty for the first few weeks -- and we went through TONS of Lysol wipes to keep things clean. Then, after a weekend away he proclaimed he was a big boy and didn't need a little potty and hasn't used it sense. Thank goodness! I don't miss the turtle at all. Fawn has a step stool in our hall bathroom on our main floor and in his bathroom upstairs -- so there is a "child-friendly" bathroom on each floor of our house. Definitely worth the $13 a pop I spent at Home Depot. Fawn has now declared that both of those bathrooms are his and that Buck and I are to use our own bathrooms. Fine by me.
6. Diversify your treats. We did leftover Halloween candy (smarties and dum dums) at first, then paired down to gummies, marshmallows, chocolate chips, then to stickers/stamps. Now he doesn't even ask. I should have mixed it up from the beginning so he didn't have an expectation of a particular reward.
7. Be ready for regression. It hasn't all been smooth sailing. Fawn will go a couple weeks without any accidents and then boom, we'll have a couple days in a row with several accidents. I think we are definitely headed in the right direction, but Fawn isn't one of those kids who was completely potty-trained from the get-go. It's still so much better than changing diapers, though!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
New Year, New Goals.
Happy New Year! Can't believe it's 2012, but I am so looking forward to all this year has to offer -- especially the arrival of our bundle of joy VERY soon.
I'm not really a New Year's person -- I don't do New Year's Eve. I find it totally overrated. I don't stay up until midnight -- in fact, I cannot even remember the last NYE that I was up until midnight. If I had to guess it would be Y2K -- I can distinctly remember going out and being up that night. Ever since then, it's been football games and dinners in with my also anti-NYE partner in crime Buck.
I don't do the traditional New Year's Day food, I don't watch the Parade of Roses, and I don't make New Year's resolutions. (I'm sounding very negative -- and I'm not a negative person!) But, I do love a new day timer! And, I like thinking about things I'd like to accomplish in the coming year...so here goes.
1. Transition as smoothly as possible from a family of three to a family of four.
2. Learn how to use my new camera and make it a priority to continue to take lots of pictures and capture my childrens' childhoods.
3. To that end, use my video camera more.
4. Get back in good shape post-baby -- and carve some mommy time to devote to exercise.
5. Do a better job of stocking my freezer with ready made dinners to make dinner time less stressful.
6. Continue working to be a better wife and mom each day.
7. Soak up every moment with our newborn since now I know how quick the time goes.
I'm not really a New Year's person -- I don't do New Year's Eve. I find it totally overrated. I don't stay up until midnight -- in fact, I cannot even remember the last NYE that I was up until midnight. If I had to guess it would be Y2K -- I can distinctly remember going out and being up that night. Ever since then, it's been football games and dinners in with my also anti-NYE partner in crime Buck.
I don't do the traditional New Year's Day food, I don't watch the Parade of Roses, and I don't make New Year's resolutions. (I'm sounding very negative -- and I'm not a negative person!) But, I do love a new day timer! And, I like thinking about things I'd like to accomplish in the coming year...so here goes.
1. Transition as smoothly as possible from a family of three to a family of four.
2. Learn how to use my new camera and make it a priority to continue to take lots of pictures and capture my childrens' childhoods.
3. To that end, use my video camera more.
4. Get back in good shape post-baby -- and carve some mommy time to devote to exercise.
5. Do a better job of stocking my freezer with ready made dinners to make dinner time less stressful.
6. Continue working to be a better wife and mom each day.
7. Soak up every moment with our newborn since now I know how quick the time goes.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Christmas Eve.
I know this post is long-overdue considering it's already 2012. Plus, my dad chastised me today for not putting Christmas pictures on the blog. So, here goes...some cute shots from Christmas Eve. We had a nice, relaxing, quiet family day on Christmas Eve this year -- we continued our family traditions of Christmas Eve brunch (monkey bread; sausage, eggs, and grits casserole; fruit; and fresh-squeezed OJ -- courtesy of Buck), Christmas Eve church, and a quiet night in with a steak dinner after we put Fawn to bed. This year we got to add putting cookies out for Santa -- and don't forget the reindeer food! Fawn did not want those reindeer to be left out.
Doesn't Fawn look precious in the smocked outfit my mother-in-law smocked?
Pure love. Doesn't get much better than this.
So much fun to spend Christmas with this special angel! We had a wonderful month celebrating Advent -- it truly is the most wonderful time of the year.
Leaving out cookies for Santa (plus some reindeer snacks) -- and enjoying one too (of course!).
Christmas day pictures to follow. Buck doesn't play fair when it comes to holiday gift giving. While I should know this by now -- after almost nine years of marriage and countless "occasions" -- he always seems to convince me that this year he is playing fair. Case in point -- we decided not to do presents for each other this year. On Christmas morning, though, Buck presented me with a new camera -- a Canon Rebel that I absolutely LOVE. I hadn't quite figured it out on Christmas, so the Christmas day pictures are lackluster at best. Plus, how in the world do you capture Christmas morning with a toddler? It's insanity -- and Fawn had absolutely no interest in even looking my way!
Hope you and yours enjoyed a blessed Advent season!
Christmas day pictures to follow. Buck doesn't play fair when it comes to holiday gift giving. While I should know this by now -- after almost nine years of marriage and countless "occasions" -- he always seems to convince me that this year he is playing fair. Case in point -- we decided not to do presents for each other this year. On Christmas morning, though, Buck presented me with a new camera -- a Canon Rebel that I absolutely LOVE. I hadn't quite figured it out on Christmas, so the Christmas day pictures are lackluster at best. Plus, how in the world do you capture Christmas morning with a toddler? It's insanity -- and Fawn had absolutely no interest in even looking my way!
Hope you and yours enjoyed a blessed Advent season!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)